OoT: A Foreign World
by ElectroNerd
Summary: Shane and I looked at each other, then back at the 3DS box. We quickly opened it and the case to "Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D." We untied the charger, plugged it up, then plugged it in the 3DS. Shane put the game in, and we watched the screen flash brightly. We covered our eyes, and when they opened again, we were falling out of the sky. "AAAH!"
1. Beginning The Birthday

**Woot! Here's a new fanfic for y'all, I started writing it a few months ago and I finally thought the chapter was long enough! ^_^ So anyways, there's a bunch of OCs, but that's because this is one of those "Sucked into a Video Game" fics. I had to write one! XD Next time I might do one with these guys again, just with Kingdom Hearts! Also there's a bunch of Japanese, since I wanted my main character to speak some Japanese, but back then I didn't have a very decent translator... So sorry if some of the words are wrong and sorry if it butchered the story. SO SORRY!  
**

**Anyways, this is just an intro, this could have been longer, like I could have added in everyone actually being sucked into the game, but I wanted that for another chapter. So yeah.**

**DISCLAIMER!**

**I don't own Legend of Zelda, Super Smash Bros, or Final Fantasy IV. But I own everything else, and that makes me happy.**

* * *

Chapter 1: Beginning The Birthday

I smacked the alarm clock on my bedside table. "Nodoka..." I muttered in Japanese. It's spring break, let me sleep! I rolled over when it didn't stop beeping. I was going to get a headache soon if this didn't stop... Despite my demeanor changing from tired to just plain irritated, the alarm clock continued beeping happily. I sat up, sent a glare at it, and slammed a fist onto the sleep button. "Hai, youyaku nodoka..." I muttered as I dropped my head on my pillow. I am _not_ a morning person.

I was just about to doze off again when someone bursted into the room and yelled loudly, "Rise and shine, Karei!"

In my frenzied awakening, I fell off the bed, letting out a loud cry of, "Ah!" There was a loud thud as I hit the floor. Face first.

Note to self: Always sleep closer to the wall.

I heard muffled laughter coming from above me. I rolled the rest of my body off the bed, as my legs were still on it, and I looked up at my dad. "I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree..." He managed to get out through his laughs.

"What?" I asked, not happy with being woken up less than ten minutes after an alarm clock.

My dad explained. "Your mother did the exact same thing when I woke her up like that yesterday!"

I got up and fixed the over sized "Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" t-shirt I was sleeping in. I rubbed the back of my head and mumbled, "Okay... But why did you have to wake me up like that? In fact, why did you wake me up at all? It's spring break, and Saturday, _and_ like, seven in the morning." I turned back to the bed and layed back down, facing the wall. "Don't I deserve to sleep in? Just a little?"

Despite my obvious tiredness, my dad just grabbed my arm and pulled me up. He grinned and said loudly, "I know how much you want to sleep, but today is a _very_ important day!"

He began dragging me out of my room and down the hall. I rubbed my eyes and yawned. "What makes today so important that you had to wake me up this early?"

Dad stopped dead in his tracks, causing me to crash into him. "You mean you seriously don't know?" He asked, confused.

I shook my head. "Ina." I said 'no' in Japanese.

Dad sighed, but quickly smiled again. "Then that will make this all the more better..."

I sent him a questioning look as he proceeded to drag me down the hall again. "What?"

When we reached the top of the stairs, he suddenly turned to me and yelled, "Now cover your eyes!"

I flinched and held up a hand to my ear, pretending that he damaged my hearing. "Geez, I'm right here... there's no need to yell so loudly..." I complained but still brought a hand up to cover my eyes.

He guided me down the stairs. "Hey, I honestly don't think this is a good idea, making this extremely clumsy person go down stairs while she can't see." I mumbled, almost losing my footing several times.

"Don't worry, I got ya." My dad coaxed as we walked down the last few steps. I asked if I could open my eyes now. "No, silly. Why would I make you close your eyes just to go down some stairs?"

I thought about it and shrugged. When my dad finally stopped, I guessed we were in the living room or the kitchen. My dad patted my shoulder. "Okay, we're here, but don't open your eyes yet!"

I heard feet shuffling across a tile floor as Dad moved away from me. Kitchen. "Can I open my eyes now?" I asked when there ceased to be any noise.

I heard three or four yes's and two hai's, and I wondered how many people were in the room. Slowly I opened my eyes. The first thing I saw was a giant dark green banner with OTANJOUBIOMEDETOUGOZAIMASU written on it in neon green letters. Before I could respond to that alone, I was blown away by my dad, my mom, my younger and older brothers, and my two best friends all shouting, "HAPPY 16TH BIRTHDAY, KAREI!"

I just stood there slack jawed and silent. I couldn't bring myself to do anything. I wanted to say something like, "Oh, thank you!" or, "I can't believe you guys did this for me!" or, "Wow, thanks a lot, I love it!" or maybe even, "Sixteen already? Man, I'm getting old." But no. No, I just stood there like an idiot who's trying to catch bugs with her mouth. After a few moments, my body finally allowed me to do something. But was it any of the things that I _wanted _to do? No. Instead I collapsed, dropping to my knees and _crying._ And I have a specific rule against crying.

I wiped furiously at my face. I knew I was violating the rule; I'm never supposed to cry, because I _hate_ letting people see me cry. It showed weakness, and that was the last thing I needed. I wiped at my face again, willing the tears away. But that's the thing about crying; it never stops when you want it to and you can never cry when you need to. It always just hits you like a frieght train... With all the bad timing.

The first of the crowd to react to me was Shane, one of my two friends. Clarissa, my other friend, quickly followed after him. When Shane got to me, he got on his knees and rubbed my back comfortingly. I just kept crying, hiding my face in my hands. Shane began to talk. "Karei? Do you like it?"

I nodded and exclaimed, "Arigato! Arigato! Hai, hai! Watashi suki itto! Itto kawaii!"

I didn't realize I was ranting on in Japanese until Tyler, my younger brother, yelled out, "Karei! You're speaking in Japanese again! We can't understand you!"

Dylan, my older brother, must've smacked the back of his head because I heard a small whimper. "Tyler, shush. We all know that Shane and Clarissa will translate for us."

I looked up. Clarissa and Shane smiled at me and translated to my family what I had said. Clarissa went first. "Karei said, and I quote, 'Thanks! Thanks! Yes, yes! I love it! It's cute!' "

Shane followed up with a summary. "In other words, Karei loves it. She's really happy."

I nodded furiously, tears still staining my face. I stood up, still silent, and held my arms out. I waved my arms around a little when nobody moved. Just then, Clarissa smacked her forehead and grumbled something. When she noticed no one else realized what I wanted, she sighed irritably and yelled, flailing her arms around, "You _guys!_ Don't you get it?! She wants a hug!"

"Oooh..." Everybody else in the room said slowly.

Then, everyone began to gather around. Since Shane and Clarissa were closest, they got the first part of the hug. I squeezed them tight and they squeezed back just as much. My dad and my mom wrapped their arms around us, and Dylan hugged me from behind, resting his head on my shoulder. Finally, Tyler inserted himself between Shane and Clarissa and hugged my legs, his head snuggling into my stomach.

I smiled brightly. "You know, I don't say it often enough, but I love you guys."

There was a chorus of, "We love you too, Karei!"

Everyone let go when Tyler suddenly says loudly, "Are we gonna eat cake now?"

When everyone began advancing on the island counter that displayed the cake, I cleared my throat and said loudly, "Excuse me, but it's almost seven thirty in the _morning, _and I don't think sugar this early would be good for any of you." I said, putting my hands on my hips and looking everyone directly in the eye. I shot a special look at my brothers. "Especially you two, Dylan and Tyler. That goes twice for you."

They just stared at me. Tyler was about to object when Mom broke in. "Karei, you're right. We should have breakfast before we have cake."

I nodded and gave everyone a knowing look before heading to the fridge. I opened it and fished out the eggs, butter, jam, bacon, milk, orange juice, and the biscuits. I stood on my toes and got the pancake mix off the top of the fridge. With that, I moved all my materials to the larger part of the counter and began to get to work. I opened the cabinet and pulled out a very large bowl. I turned around and counted how many people were in the room. Mom, Dad, Tyler, Dylan, Shane, Clarissa, me. That's... seven people. So, fourteen eggs. I headed back to the fridge and got out the other carton of eggs, considering the one I already had only had four or five eggs.

When I brought that back to the counter, I got out the biggest pan we owned and sprayed the cooking spray in it. When I moved to the sink to wash my hands, someone put their hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see Shane with a small smirk on his face. "Karei..." He said softly.

I just looked at him, confused. "Yes?"

He shook his head. "Karei, we can't let _you _make _us_ breakfast on your birthday! That would be like me inviting you to dinner and then asking you to pay the bill."

I raised an eyebrow. "So you're saying..."

He nodded and began directing me into the living room. "Yes, I'm saying that you should leave the cooking to us while you relax."

He sat me down on the couch. "Wait." I grabbed his arm when he moved to leave.

"Yes, Karei?" He asked, turning back around to look at me.

I smiled and said, "Super Smash Bros Brawl isn't as fun with one person." I said, handing him a Wii Remote that I had found sitting next to me.

Shane chuckled. "But I have to make breakfast, remember?" He said.

I made a face and said, "Well, I'm relieving you of your duties." I got up before he could stop me and marched into the kitchen. "You guys hear that?!" I said loudly, drawing everyone's attention to me. "Shane is _mine_ for right now. So _don't _try to come steal him, orders from the birthday girl." I grinned and saluted, flattening my hand, bringing it up to my forehead, and moving it outwards.

"Yes ma'am!" Everyone copied my motion and got back to work.

I heard a snort come from Clarissa. I looked at her and she waggled her eyebrows, grinning. "You go girl!" She mouthed to me. I blushed and walked out of the kitchen, hating how she always teased me about how compatible Shane and I were. Oh, I would get her one day.

I walked back into the living room with a smirk on my face, hoping that hid my blush, and plopped onto the couch. "You can now stay in here with me." I said matter-of-factly.

Shane smiled and shook his head. "Alright then, birthday girl."

I fist-pumped in victory and moved over to the Wii. I pressed the button that was glowing red and turned on the tv. "Catch." I said, tossing Shane my Wii Remote.

"I already have one." He said, catching it.

I shook my head while searching for the case that had 'Super Smash Bros Brawl' written on it. "That one's for me, silly!"

Shane 'ohh'-ed as I 'aha'-ed. I pulled out the case I was looking for. "Let's play!" I said, putting the game in the Wii and plopping back onto the couch. "Prepare to be defeated!" I said triumphantly.

"You're on!" Shane said, nudging me playfully.

~OoT:AFW~

Clarissa's POV

Tyler yelped and jumped away from the stove, flailing his hand around wildly. Tears were beginning to form in his eyes.

Mrs. Knightlock turned to him with a half-hearted frown on her face. "Tyler, what did I tell you about going near the stove without a glove on?" She said.

The young boy shook his head, his bottom lip quivering a little. "You told me not to..."

"And what did you do?"

Tyler flung himself at his mother. "I'm sorry mommy! I didn't know it would hurt so bad!"

Mrs. Knightlock stiffened, but slowly wrapped her arms around the child. "I can't stay mad at you..." She said, hugging him.

Dylan coughed. "Sappy..."

Mr. Knightlock and I glared at him. I sighed and shook my head. "Way to ruin the moment..."

Dylan turned to me, his cheeks dusted ever so slightly with pink. "Oh, Clarissa, what else was there to say?"

I raised an eyebrow and moved over near the entrance to the living room. "Nothing at all..." I mumbled. I leaned against the door frame and watched as Karei and Shane played Super Smash Bros Brawl. I was too far away to hear what they were saying, but Karei said something, smiling, and playfully punching Shane's arm. He laughed and said something back.

Even from the distance I was at, I could see the blush that dusted her face. What did Shane say? Does he notice the blush?

"Clarissa? What are you doing?" Dylan said, approaching me.

I looked at him from over my shoulder. "Nothing..." I trailed, focusing on Karei and Shane. One day, it'll happen... I'll finally get it to happen...

I tensed when Dylan put a hand on my shoulder. "What exactly is 'nothing'?"

I sighed and turned around to look at him. His brown eyes and his expression softened. I smiled and motioned for him to lean in. I then stood on my toes and whispered in his ear, "I'm trying to get Shane and Karei together."

He blushed slightly and said a little too loudly, "Are you serious?"

I hissed and covered his mouth. "Shush! You'll get me caught!"

His hands instinctively went up and tugged on my wrist. "MMPHH!" I couldn't understand what he was saying, but he was still being too loud. I glanced over at Shane and Karei, and I could see they had paused the game. Karei unconsciously scooted closer to Shane. They were looking for whatever made the noise.

I'm about to get caught!

I quickly dragged Dylan back into the kitchen and pushed him near the bacon he was supposed to be cooking. I glared at him. "You almost got me caught!" I fussed.

He didn't respond for a moment, then shrugged and said softly, "I'm sorry."

I saw the dejected look on his face and I went soft, if only for a little bit. "Look, I'm sorry I went off on you, it's just... It's hard to play matchmaker and see if the two people are good together when there is the threat of being discovered... Just don't do that again when you see me keeping a close eye on them, alright?" I said, patting his shoulder.

His eyes lit up and he nodded. "Okay!" He said happily, directing his attention back to the bacon with a smile on his face.

I moved over to the eggs and flipped them around the pan. I smiled.

Wait.

No... I just had a sweet-sappy moment with Dylan!

NO! This wasn't supposed to happen yet... and especially not with me!

~OoT:AFW~

Karei's POV

I threw my arms up in the air as the announcer on the game said loudly, "Winner: Link!" I fist-pumped and said, "I win!"

Shane glared playfully and said, "I let you win that time..."

I grinned. "That's what you said last time! Just admit it: I'm better with Link than you are with Snake!"

Shane sighed and declared, "I want a rematch!"

I giggled and pressed the 2 button on my remote. "Alright then... Prepare to be defeated!"

He laughed. "You're on!"

I was about to select the stage when my mom burst into the room and said, "Come eat, you two!"

Shane looked at me and grinned. I grinned back and got up, holding my hand out to him. He took it and stood up. I turned to my mom and followed her into the kitchen. Just then, she made this weird waving motion with her hands. I didn't know what it meant, and while I was trying to figure it out I was swept off my feet by someone behind me. Namely, Shane. I squeaked as he adjusted me, holding me bridal style. I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck so I wouldn't fall. I was sure the blush on my face was evident.

With a goofy smile, Shane walked into the kitchen, me still in his arms. I blushed even deeper when Clarissa started humming the "Theme of Love" from Final Fantasy IV. We aren't Cecil and Rosa!

My dad looked up and saw us, then grinned. "Woah, what just happened here?" He asked in mock-shock. "I thought my daughter was single!"

Dylan instantly interjected. "She is!"

There was a moment of silence before Clarissa snorted. "Looks like Shane and Karei aren't denying anything..."

I blushed even deeper and I was sure someone could replace my head with a tomato and not notice anything different. I also saw that Shane had a slight blush on his cheeks.

My mom laughed. "Okay guys, let's stop teasing them and eat breakfast!"

Shane nodded and walked over to the dining room table, then put me down and pulled out my chair for me. I almost whined at the loss of his arms around me. "Thank you," I said as I sat down, mulling over my thoughts. He nodded to me and sat in the seat beside me. Why did I want him to keep holding me? There's no way I'm falling for Shane... It just doesn't seem right. He's more like an older brother or a super awesome cousin than a love interest.

By the goddesses, what's going on?

I was so lost in thought that I didn't even realize that everyone had sat down and that the table was already set. Luckily, no one had noticed, so I quickly snapped back to attention and pretended like I wasn't completely lost in my mind just a few seconds ago. What was going on? I decided I would think about it later as everyone picked up their forks, and I realized how hungry I was.

I could think about that later, right now I could EAT!

* * *

**I hope that ending was acceptable, I was reading through this on the doc manager and I realized I hadn't ended it the way I wanted to, so I really just now typed up a really quick ending. I hope it was good, I really don't know. Meh.  
**

**Anyways, farewell for now, and review! ^_^**


	2. Entering Hyrule

**Hey. I'm really proud of this story. The chapters are really easy to make longer so you guys get more juice from the fruits of my labor than you usually do. *applause* Go Ocarina of Time! Alright, so, from this point forward, I'm going to be playing the game as I write so I can give you guys the best details in temples and stuff. I've already beat the game once, how hard can twice be? I think I can handle it. Also, sorry for updating so early. It's 1 AM and I have to get up early tomorrow, unless my mom will let me sleep in. Which I doubt. So I loss hours of precious sleep for you guys! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, however I DO own this story. Haha! :D**

* * *

Chapter 2: Entering Hyrule

I stretched and hummed in appreciation. "That was delicious."

Everyone smiled. "We're glad you liked it." My dad said.

Tyler spoke up from next to me. "I helped Clarissa make the eggs!"

I grinned and ruffled his hair. "And you two did an excellent job!" I turned to everyone else and said, "Okay. _Now_ we can eat cake."

Everyone groaned. "Karei," Dylan started, "I couldn't eat another bite even if I wanted to. I'm stuffed to the brim... and then some."

Before I could respond, my mom broke in and said, "Well, you know we always open gifts before we eat cake."

My eyebrows furrowed. "We do?"

My mom nodded and pulled a box seemingly out of nowhere. "Yes. Happy birthday, honey."

She handed me the box, and I took it gracefully, sneakily tearing some of the paper with my thumb. I then placed it in front of me and tore the rest of the paper off. My eyes widened and I was speechless. Right here, in front of me, was the box to sleek turquoise 3DS. I looked up at my mom, then back at the box, then back at my mom. My breathing and my pulse quickened. I guess I finally annoyed her enough. I gave her a look, to check if this was real, and she nodded.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I stood from the table silently, pushed my chair back in place, took a few steps away from the table, and warned, "You all might want to cover your ears."

Everyone nodded and followed my direction. As soon as I was sure they couldn't hear me, I let loose. I squeal-screamed at the top of my lungs and began frantically running around the house in a giant circle. I tripped over a stray shoe in the middle of the floor and fell, which paused my squeal. I sighed and held my face in my hands. "Best... gift... ever." I muttered under my breath.

I heard footsteps coming my way and I looked up to see Shane, his brown hair falling in his bright blue eyes. "You forgot this," He said, handing me something. I let it fall on my stomach, and my eyes widened again.

On my tummy, was the case to the game _Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D._ I stared at the case, my eyes widening. I held back another squeal and said, "I-I... This..." I couldn't get out complete sentences so I quickly said, "Get... Clarissa... translator... Neee..." Holding back an attack is hard... Geez.

Shane seemed to understand and walked away, returning with Clarissa. She knelt next to me and said, "I'll use my awesome translator powers to tell Shane what you're saying. Go 'head, Karei."

I nodded and, still holding in the attack, muttered, "This... I'm... it's... dream... No..." I motioned frantically to the game, "Link... play... neee... Classic game?" I asked. "Graphics... great... like... getting Ages... all over... BUT..." I paused, trying to choke back the fangirl attack. "WORSE!" I finally broke, letting out a faint squeal before pretending to die on the floor. I clutched the game to my chest, curling into a ball. It's hard being a fangirl... Especially when everyone knows JUST what to do to get you to freak out.

Clarissa was silent for a moment before she looked up at Shane. "This is what our little fangirl here said. 'This is really Ocarina of Time?! I'm dreaming... It's got to be a dream. No, this is real. I can't wait to play as Link. This is a classic game, right? I bet the graphics are great. It's like... getting Oracle of Ages all over again... BUT WORSE!' " Clarissa then mimicked me, throwing herself to the floor with a squeal and curling into a ball next to me.

I rolled over to glare at her. "Clarissa... Thanks for translating for Shane, but don't mock my attacks. They're serious." I said flatly.

She only grinned. "Gotcha. I won't do it again." She said cheerfully, hopping up and then offering her hand to me.

I took it and stood up, still holding the game close to me. I looked down at it, taking in every detail, from the Hylian Shield behind the 'Z' to the faded ocarina in the top left and the bottom right corners. "This case," I said slowly. "Is gorgeous."

Shane laughed. "Then wait until you play the game! I could help you out if you needed me to, though... Because I already watched the walk through, since I thought I wasn't ever going to be near the game."

I shook my head and waggled a finger at him. "Thanks, but no. Shane, you know how I feel about using guides! I'll have to refuse your offer."

Shane shrugged. "Your choice. But the offer is still up for grabs, should you change your mind."

I sighed. "Alright."

Just then, Dylan walked in, holding the 3DS box. He handed it to me. "Mom told me to tell you that she wanted you to be able to play your game for a little bit before we eat cake."

I held the box in my hand, then grinned. "Thanks, Dylan. You should take a nap or something though, you look really tired."

Dylan yawned. "I am. Why don't _you_ try getting three hours of sleep sometime? Along with that, yell 'Happy Birthday', cook, and stuff yourself. If I sit down, that's the end of it."

I grinned more and poked his nose. "The go lay down and take a nap, silly!"

He nodded. "I will... after I get some juice." He then turned on his heel and walked back into the kitchen.

I shook my head and laughed. "Oh, Dylan. Anyways, I'm gonna head upstairs to my room to plug this up and PLAY! You guys wanna come?" I asked.

Shane nodded while Clarissa said, "I'll be up in a minute. I have to use the bathroom." With that, she practically dashed down the hall and to the nearest bathroom.

Shane and I shrugged before heading up the stairs. We went into my room, sitting down on my bed. We sat silent for a while before we looked at each other, then back at the 3DS box. We quickly opened it and the case to _Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D_. I untied the charger, plugged it up, then plugged it in the 3DS. Shane put the game in, and we watched the screen flash brightly, just as my bedroom door was opening behind us. We covered our eyes, and when they opened again, we were falling out of the sky.

I was the first to scream. "AAAHHH!"

I looked to my right and saw Shane, a seemingly stoic expression on his face. He didn't make a sound, and if he did, I didn't hear it over the wind whizzing in my ear. I looked to my left and saw Clarissa... and Dylan?! "DYLAN?!" I asked. He turned to look at me. He pointed down and tried waving his arms around, but the wind wouldn't allow it.

I took his hint and looked down to see that we were all falling right into a tree. A rather large one, at that. "TREEEEE!" I managed to yell before we hit the branches. The air was knocked out of me as I was thrown around like a pinball through the branches. I got a few hits to the face before the thick brush ended and I was sent tumbling to the ground. Everyone landed a few moments after I did. We were all breathing heavily as we tried to catch our breath.

"Ugh..." I heard Dylan say. "That... woke me up... Ugh."

Clarissa nodded. "If... If that didn't wake you up, I don't know what will."

I groaned. "That was... surprising... And intense. I'll never think of skydiving in the same way."

"No kidding." Shane agreed from next to me.

Suddenly, a deep but friendly voice boomed from above us. "Ah, I knew I sensed a benevolent presence... but I didn't expect four... kids."

I instantly went into defense mode. "Kid?! I'm sixteen, baka!" I yelled.

The voice chuckled. "Really? I must be mistaken, then. You don't look a day over nine."

"Nine?" I quoted, sitting up to look down at myself. "Ah, no! Nooo!" I cried. I was, indeed, nine years old again. I looked at Shane, who was ten again, then to Clarissa, who was also nine. Finally, I looked at Dylan, who looked like he was back to his eleven-year-old self. "We all got seven years younger?!" I exclaimed, bewildered, as everyone sat up, just to make the realization that I was not lying.

The voice laughed. "Ah, child, do not fret. You are still sixteen at heart."

I suddenly felt reassured from that small handful of words. "Thank you... Uh..." I said slowly.

"Ah. I am the Great Deku Tree." The tree said. I looked up, and up, and up, to find that I was at the base of a giant tree. The tree had a huge, gaping hole that seemed like a mouth under a wooden mustache, a large nose, and wise eyes. "I am the guardian of the Kokiri Forest."

Shane looked around, his eyes widening. "This... is the Kokiri Forest? I've heard that before..."

"Have you?" The Great Deku Tree laughed. "I didn't know we were so popular. Anyhow, I have a problem... Ganondorf, the evil King of the Gerudo, has put a deathly curse on me since I would not give him the forest's sacred jewel, the Kokiri Emerald. I have a young hero inside of me who is doing the best he can to lift the curse... But I am afraid he is already too late. This young hero goes by the name of Link."

My eyes widened. Link? Link?!

The Deku Tree continued. "I can already tell that Link has a very long adventure ahead of him. I can also tell that you four... are destined to be here. Destined to adventure alongside the heroic Link. Please, along with Navi, his fairy, aid Link on his quest to save Hyrule."

I nodded slowly. "Mr. Deku Tree," I started, "I'd love to help Link."

"Me too." Shane said, grinning.

"Wherever my friends go, I go too!" Clarissa added.

"So... If Shane and Karei jumped off a bridge, would jump after them?" Dylan asked, snickering. When Clarissa glared at him, he quickly added. "Joking! Joking. I'll go too, I gotta keep my lil' sis safe anyways. Helping this 'hero' will be a bonus."

I bet the Deku Tree would have smiled if he could. "Thank you, children. I... I can sense Link coming out of me. He has defeated the parasite within me... But my time is already up... Children... Link is coming... Now."

Just as he said this, a blue column of light appeared near me, and a young boy in a forest green tunic fell from the sky, landing gracefully on his feet as the light disappeared. I wish we could have done that.

"Well done, Link..." The Deku Tree said. "Thou hast verily demonstrated thy courage..."

That... that was a sudden change of vocabulary. I listened closely to what the Great Deku Tree was saying, just as Link was.

"I knew that thou wouldst be able to carry out my wishes... Now I have yet more to tell thee, wouldst thou listen..." The Deku Tree paused, waiting for Link's answer. If Link said no, we wouldn't be any more informed than he is.

I felt relief wash over me when Link nodded. The tree continued. "Now... listen carefully... A wicked man of the desert cast this dreadful curse upon me... This evil man ceaselessly uses his vile, sorcerous powers in his search for the Sacred Realm that is connected to Hyrule... For it is in the Sacred Realm that one will find the divine relic, the Triforce, which contains the essence of the gods..." He paused for a few moments before saying, "Thou must never allow the desert man in black armor to lay his hands on the Sacred Triforce... Thou must never suffer that man, with his evil heart, to enter the Sacred Realm of legend... That evil man who cast the death curse upon me and sapped my power... Because of that curse, my end is nigh... Though your valiant efforts to break the curse were successful, I was doomed before you started... Yes, I will pass away soon... But do not grieve for me... I have been able to tell you of these important matters... This is Hyrule's final hope..."

Since we could all sense the end of the Deku Tree's speech, we all stood and stretched. "Link... Children... Go now to Hyrule Castle... There thou wilt surely meet the Princess of Destiny... Take this stone with thee, the stone that man wanted so much that he cast this curse upon me..."

There was a bright flash of green light, and when the light dimmed, in its place lay a single orb-shaped emerald that had a gold curl about the front and a sort of golden tail. We all stared in wonder as it hovered above our heads, then fell gently into my lap. I stared at it before looking to Link. I gently picked up the jewel and handed it to him. He smiled his appreciation. We all turned when the Great Deku Tree started to speak again.

"The future depends upon thee, Link... Thou art courageous... Shouldst thou ever lose thy way, seek a vision of the path from the Sheikah Stone that stands beside thy home. Navi the fairy... Children... Help Link to carry out my will... I entreat thee... Navi, children... Good... bye..." Suddenly, some of the Deku Tree's leave began to fall. He groaned one final time before his wood darkened to an almost black color. I could almost feel the essence of his soul whoosh out of him, heading towards the heavens. I had only known this tree for a short period of time... and I already wanted to cry. I can't begin to imagine how Link feels, he probably grew up around this tree, and to have to watch him die... I could feel my heart starting to crack just thinking about it.

Then, a high-pitched voice sang out, "Let's go to Hyrule Castle, Link!"

Link looked at the fairy who spoke. "Wait, Navi..." He said, then turned to us. "Are... Are you the children that the Great Deku Tree mentioned?"

"Um... Yeah, I guess so. Are you Link?" I asked in return.

Link nodded. "Alright. We... We should get going." He said. He started down the trail, and everyone followed. I stayed behind for a few moments, turning to look back at the Great Deku Tree.

I tried to choke the urge I had to cry. "Good-bye... Great Deku Tree..." I then turned back around and ran to catch up with everyone else. Link had paused in his walking to take a glance at a boy who was guarding the exit and not letting us by.

"Mido... We need to go." Link said quietly.

Mido got all up in Link's face, sticking a finger to his chest. I couldn't catch what he said, but it seemed Link was unaffected by it. I watched Mido stomp away until I couldn't see him anymore. I rolled my eyes. I hated it when people did that. Link shook his head and wordlessly kept walking. Clarissa, Dylan, Shane and I followed silently, taking in the scenery around us. Though we didn't have much time to, because now was not the time for sight-seeing.

Link led us through an opening in a large wall that looked extremely similar to a hollow log. On the other side of the log, there was a short bridge that led to another hollow log. We were about to cross the bridge and leave the Kokiri Forest when a soft voice stopped us. Or rather, Link. I quickly dragged everyone else to the side of the bridge so Link could be alone with whoever the voice belonged to. I must not have been far enough though, because I could still hear the conversation and see them out of the corner of my eye.

"Oh, you're leaving..." The soft voice spoke.

"Saria..." Link said. He turned around to face her and walked up to her.

"I knew... that you would leave the forest... someday, Link... Because you are different from me and my friends..." Saria paused before continuing. "But that's OK, because we'll be friends forever... won't we?" There was another long pause before Saria spoke again. "I want you to have this ocarina... Please take good care of it." She held out a small tan and green ocarina.

"Saria..." Link trailed, taking the ocarina offered to him. "Thank you." He said.

Saria smiled. "When you play my ocarina, I hope you will think of me and come back to the forest to visit."

Link nodded before turning and tapping me on the shoulder. He motioned towards the other log and I nodded. I tugged on Shane's sleeve and whispered, "We're leaving now." He nodded and told Clarissa and Dylan, and then we all left. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Saria standing, watching us leave with Link. I hope we have enough time to go back and visit soon.

We walked through the final log and found ourselves in a sort of mini-canyon, since the log was nestled between two rock walls. I saw that we had to go around a corner, and I instantly didn't want to know what was around that corner. I was contemplating running back into the log to catch up with Saria when Link turned to look back at us. "So..." He said softly. "I don't think we were all introduced properly... I'm Link."

A blue ball of light flew out of his hat, leaving a trail of sparkles behind. "I'm Navi, Link's fairy!" The ball said before returning to her spot in Link's hat.

I laughed at how anti-social that seemed at the moment. "I'm Karei."

Shane took a step forward and smiled at Link. "My name's Shane. I'm Karei's best friend."

Clarissa linked her arm with mine and said, "Clarissa, at your service! I'm Karei's other best friend."

Finally, Dylan, who had somehow gotten over to one of the walls around us without anyone noticing, looked up from his position against the wall and said smoothly, "Name's Dylan. I'm Karei's nii-san, so don't you try anything with her." He narrowed his eyes. "And I mean _any-thing._"

Link looked a little taken back by Dylan's threat, but I quickly stepped in. "Aw, Dylan, don't try to act cool. Act Dylan."

Dylan set his glare to me. "Act Dylan? Are you saying I, your older brother, am not cool?"

I nodded and stuck my tongue out at him. "Yes! I, your younger sister, am saying that you are FAR from cool."

Dylan looked about ready to start an argument when he stopped and smirked. "You say I'm not cool. But cool is another word for cold. If I'm not cold, I'm hot. I know I'm hot." He then puffed out his chest as if he had won or something.

I laughed and walked over to him. I grinned. "Pfft, yeah right. Keep dreaming, big guy." I then poked his nose, getting rid of his hurt expression. "Dylan, I'm your little nee-chan! Of course I don't think you're cool! You get on my nerves half the time I'm around you. But you're still an awesome older brother... Even though we have our moments."

Dylan sighed. "Like this one?"

I nodded again. "Like this one."

Link, who was silent the whole time, burst out laughing, along with Shane and Clarissa. "You guys..." He forced out, "Are really funny."

I grinned. "Thanks!" I then grabbed Dylan's hand, and, filled with a new sense of bravery and fearlessness, pulled him along, past Link, and around the corner. "Nii-san, c'mon! Use your feet!" I then turned around and saw everyone staring at me with a crazy expression. "What? We need to get to Hyrule Castle, right? So... let's go!" I chirped, then kept pulling Dylan down the trail. There were a few scraggly half-dead trees here and there, and we were all about to pass under the second to last tree when a large, but very nice voice stopped us.

"Hoo hoo! Hello, Link! Starting your journey now, aren't you?" The voice asked.

There was a long and suffering sigh from Shane. "Now _this guy..._ I remember clearly. _Clearly._"

I frowned. When watching a walk through, Shane normally tends to remember the somewhat annoying stuff afterwards... Which means...

Oh no. What are we in for now?

* * *

**UltimateOtakuGirl100, I honestly hope you liked this chapter. I just had to thank you publicly for first reviewer. *hugs you* THANK YOU! Anyways, I hope you all chapter! My laptop was being stupid, therefore was updated from my phone. Thank the three for mobile fanfiction! :) Review!**


	3. Lon Lon Ranch

**Hey guys. I just want to say now, this chapter wasn't nearly as long as I wanted it to be. And after I just said I would make longer chapters. :( Meh. Also, I know you meet Malon in Castle Town, but I put here back in Lon Lon Ranch to make the story flow better. And because Ingo's not a nice guy at the beginning. Um... I think that's all I have to say.**

**Disclaimer:**

**Me: From now on, someone else will disclaim for me, because it HURTS to say I don't own! TT_TT**

**Dark (Dark Link): Electro, you wuss.**

**Me: NE! DON'T CALL ME A WUSS! I'M NOT A WUSS!**

**Dark: Chicken wuss. CHICKEN WUSS!**

**Me: TT_TT**

**Dark: *rolls eyes* Electro doesn't own Legend of Zelda, thankfully.**

**Me: BUT I OWN EVERYTHING ELSE!**

**Dark: ...And?**

**Me: ...Whatever.**

* * *

Chapter 3: Lon Lon Ranch

Shane sighed again as Dylan and I looked up. Perched casually above us was a _giant_ owl with a large, tan belly framed with large, dark brown wings. The bird had long tail feathers and very long eyebrows, is what I would call them. His bright blue eyes were friendly as he called out to Link again.

"Hoot! Link, up here! It appears the time has finally come for you to start your adventure! You will encounter many hardships ahead... That is your fate. Don't feel discouraged, even during the toughest times! Just look to your friends for help. Anyways, if you go straight this way, you will see Hyrule Castle. You will meet a princess there... If you are lost and don't know which way to go, just take a peek at your map." With that, he shifted around, and out from where, I don't know, fell a rolled up piece of paper. Clarissa quickly ran up and picked up the roll, walking back over to us.

She unrolled it and said, "It's a map... but it's unfinished." She said. I looked over her shoulder to see that it was indeed unfinished. It seemed like paper clouds were blocking the rest of Hyrule from view. The next thing I noticed was a flashing blue dot over what looked like a castle. There was another blue dot over what looked like a small fenced-in house, but it was quickly overlooked. I sighed and we all turned around as the owl started speaking again.

"That map there is enchanted. Only areas you have already explored will be shown on the map. If you don't know where to go next, try heading to one of the locations marked with a flashing dot. As of now, the flashing dot is over the castle, is it not? Anyways, did you get all that?" The owl asked us, tilting its head to the side.

Shane stepped forward over-dramatically. "YES! Dear goddesses, YES, we got it. Thanks."

The owl tilted its head to the other side and said, "All right then, I'll see you around! Hoot hoot hoot ho!" With that, the owl spread his great wings and flew away.

"Geez..." Shane grumbled. "Where's a B button when you need one?"

Link gave him a look. "B button...?" He asked.

"Don't ask... Just forget I said anything."

"...Okay..." Link said, then started walking past the trees.

I quickly started running after him. "Wait up, Link!" I ran past the last tree and _had_ to stop and look around. It was amazing. "Where's this?" I asked Clarissa, who was still holding the map.

She looked down at it. "Hm... Well, according to this, we're in Hyrule Field."

Dylan sighed. "Such a creative name for this field."

I narrowed my eyes. "Well Dylan, this is Hyrule. This is a field in Hyrule. It would make sense that it's Hyrule Field."

Dylan shrugged. "I just thought that whoever founded Hyrule would come up with a better name, like maybe 'The Field That Connects All' or something."

I shook my head. "That's way too wordy. Call it 'Connecting Field', that sounds better."

"Um," Link said, looking back at us with a smile, "We should find somewhere to stay for the night..."

"Why?" Shane asked, then looked up at the sky. "Oh, the sun's close to setting. Link's right." He grabbed my hand and started dragging me along so we could catch up with Link.

"Oi!" I called. "Clarissa, Dylan! Let's gooooo!" I waved my other hand at them as I stumbled after Shane.

They quickly followed after us, and soon we caught up with Link. He was standing on the top of a short stone wall, looking out into the horizon. "There," He pointed at what looked like an island in a sea of grass, "That's where we should head... It's looks safe, and it's close to Castle Town."

I looked at the island and nodded. "Alright... But it looks pretty far away, are you sure we'll get there before nightfall?" I asked.

Link seemed to go over the answer in his head before saying quietly, "...Well, maybe if we sprint...?"

Dylan stepped forward, his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. Great goddesses, here we go again. "Challenge accepted." He said loudly, then set off sprinting towards the island.

We were all silent for a few seconds before Clarissa volunteered, "Are we gonna follow him or...?"

Link shrugged and silently followed Dylan, with the rest of us following him. After a few minutes, we were all getting a little short of breath, except for Link, who was beckoning us forward. Suddenly, the ground shook and Navi zoomed out of Link's hat shrieking, "Watch out!"

Eyes wide, I looked around and saw nothing that seemed ominous. I was about to ask Navi what she was flipping out about when I felt something wrap around my ankle. I jumped and kicked my leg out, then reached down to see what it was. I screamed and dropped the skeletal hand that had wrapped itself around my ankle. The ground rumbled again and I swerved around to see a large skeleton with sharp, blood red claws, glowing orange eyes, and only a torn piece of cloth around its waist for clothing.

"Navi?!" Link yelled, pulling out his sword. "What is that thing?"

"Um," The small fairy stammered frantically, "It's a Stalchild. Don't be afraid of it, just attack it repeatedly!"

"Alright." Link nodded. "Karei, watch out!" He yelled again, then lunged at the thing just as I moved out of the way.

I stumbled and would have fallen if Shane hadn't have been right there to catch me. "Karei, are you okay?" He asked, panicked. Moments after this, Clarissa ran up to us, also panicking.

"I'm fine, what about Link?" I asked, slightly dazed from my scare. I looked up and turned to see Link fighting with the stalchild. He did a swift backflip when the thing swung at him with its claws, then in one swing, he sliced the skeleton's spine, cutting it in half. The stalchild fell apart and spontaneously combusted into neon green flames. Link took a deep breath and sheathed his sword. He walked over to us and knelt over in front of me.

"Karei..." He said quietly. "Your ankle..."

I gave him a funny look before I looked down at my ankle. I gasped. There were long claw marks all over my skin. I looked a little lower and saw the grass beneath my ankle getting darker. "H-how?" I stammered.

Navi flew closer to my wound, examining it. "This must have happened when you jerked your leg so quickly."

I nodded slowly, taking it all in. "I... I see. So why doesn't it hurt?" I asked seriously.

"Adrenaline, I'd say." Clarissa said. "It's the same concept as when you broke your arm when you were riding down that hill on your bike and you ran over that huge rock which made you crash into that tree."

I winced. "That _had _to be bad luck. It was Friday the 13th after all, too! That was totally bad luck."

"Okay, if you say so." Clarissa shrugged.

Link raised an eyebrow and said, "Nonetheless, we need to do something or it'll get infected..." Link had a thoughtful expression. "I don't have any medical supplies on me at the moment though... Ugh." He looked up at Shane. "Shane... Would you mind carrying Karei until we get to... To where we're going...?"

Shane nodded. "It's no problem." He said, then shifted me to hold me bridal style.

We all started walking towards the island again. I squirmed a little in Shane's arms. "Oi," I said, pouting, "Why can't I just walk?"

"Because then your wound would get infected." Clarissa answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I was silent before saying, "Fine, but this is the last time I'm going to let myself be carried around like this."

Shane laughed. "I told you, it's no problem to carry you! You're super light."

I frowned. "No, it may not be a problem to you, but it's a problem for _me._ It makes me feel weak and helpless and pathetic. I'm not a Sakura character."

"Sakura character?" Link asked, confused.

"It's when a character in a story, game, manga, or anything really, just stands around when they could be useful. For example, the character Sakura in the anime/manga of Naruto is where the name originated, because she has potential, because she's just as capable as everyone else, but she doesn't do anything, and when she does, it's something that impacts everyone negatively. And she's always getting beat up." Clarissa explained. When she saw Link's still confused expression, she quickly added, "Basically, an all-around useless person."

Link nodded and looked at me sympathetically. "Karei, you're not a Sakura character."

"I feel like one." I muttered just as we walked onto the island. I looked up and saw Dylan leaning against a tree.

When he looked up, his eyes settled on me, and he instantly went into flip-out mode.

"What the glob happened to my sister?!" He yelled. He turned and glared at Link, running up to him and holding him up by his tunic's collar. He shook him and asked again, "What happened to my sister?!"

Link, shaken, couldn't answer, so Navi quickly flew out of his hat and, in Link's defense, kicked her tiny foot in Dylan's eye. Dylan instantly dropped a still shaken Link and glared at the blue fairy with his good eye. "Why you-"

I shook my head. "Clarissa," I grumbled, "You know what to do."

She nodded and walked up to Dylan and Navi. "Sorry girl," She apologized before she swatted Navi out of the air with the back of her hand. She then grabbed Dylan's shoulders, looked him right in the eye, and slapped him. "GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF, MAN!" She yelled, shaking him. "Karei's gonna be fine, we just got attacked by a monster. Either way, we can save bickering for later, because there's a good chance the Karei's wound will get infected if we don't hurry." With that, she continued up the hill that led to the top of the island and disappeared around a corner.

"She..." Dylan whispered, rubbing his cheek. "She slapped me. She actually slapped me. She slapped me." He kept muttering about being slapped and followed after her.

I sighed. "That Dylan..." I then looked at Link, who was sitting on the ground with an angry Navi flying crazily around his head. Sighing, he grabbed her and stuffed her in his hat, muffling her angry yelling. He sighed again and stood up.

"Are you okay? Dylan can be pretty rough sometimes." I explained.

Link turned and smiled at me. "I'm fine, just shaken up."

I smiled back. "That's good."

"Alright then," Shane said, "We should get you up this hill so we can treat your wound." And with that, he started up the hill, with me in tow.

Link followed after us, and seconds later we were around the corner and at the top of the hill, walking into a place that seemed like a ranch to me. On the right side was a huge stable, probably for horses and cows at night, and to the left was a house. There was an archway where the house and the stable ended, and there was something written on it but it was written in Hylian, so I couldn't read it. Since we could all agree that just barging into the house or the stable would be rude, we continued walking. After we were past the archway, the land opened out to reveal a corral filled with horses. There was a dirt track around the corral, which a horse just happened to be running on at the moment.

We started walking towards the corral to see if Dylan and Clarissa were over there when a tall, skinny man with bushy eyebrows and a large mustache stopped us. He swung around the pitchfork he was holding and mumbled, "What? What are you doing hanging around here? You little wierdos! I am Ingo, and I mind this ranch, Lon Lon Ranch. I've been working at this ranch for a long time for that lazy bum, Talon. Today, for example, he's gone somewhere for a delivery and hasn't come back yet! So I'm doing all the work around here. Oh well... It's tough being a working man." With that, Ingo sighed and walked away.

I didn't care in particular where he was headed off to, and apparently neither did Link or Shane, because we kept moving. We walked into the corral to find Clarissa and Dylan talking to a little girl about Link's age with long, beautiful red hair and blue eyes so bright I could see the color from here. When she turned, she saw us, and Clarissa walked away as the girl instantly ran up to Link.

"Hey! Your clothes! They're... different... You aren't from around here, are you?" She went silent, as if asking Link to explain where he was from.

Link, taking the hint, said, "No, I'm from the Kokiri Forest. My name is Link."

The girl smiled. "Ohh... You're a fairy boy from the forest! My name is Malon! My dad owns Lon Lon Ranch, which is where we are now. Dad went to the castle to deliver some milk and hasn't come back yet... But oh! Who're they?" She asked, turning to me and Shane.

"I'm Shane." Shane said.

"I'm Karei." I said.

"Karei!" Malon said loudly. "You're bleeding! We need to wrap that wound! Shane, come quick, we have bandages in the house." With that, she started towards the house we passed by earlier. Shane looked back at Link, then started to follow Malon. After a few minutes, I found myself sitting on a sort of counter that had a red and rather ornate rug over the center.

"I'm not the best medic," Malon said as she wrapped my wound, "But I know how to treat a wound. Luckily it didn't get infected. Anyways," She paused as she finished wrapping and tied a neat knot at the top of the bandages. "Now that I'm done, you can walk around freely. You just couldn't walk because Shane, Link, and Clarissa didn't want it to get infected. But it's better now." She smiled and stood up.

I hopped down from the counter and found it didn't hurt to walk at all. There was a slight tingling feeling, but that was it. "Thank you, Malon."

"No problem!" Malon laughed, then walked over to the door, opening it. "Well, since you're here, I'll show you around the ranch!"

"Alright." Shane said, following her out when she opened the door and walked out. Link and I followed after him.

"Alright." Malon said, pointing at the stable. "That's the stable. It's where we keep the horses and the cows and the chickens." She walked out into the rest of the ranch. "Right here is the corral for the horses to run around in. There's a track for training them around the corral. And all the way back there," She pointed to a lone tower at the back of the ranch, "is where we store stuff. It looks real lonely over there..." Malon sighed before turning to us. "And um... that's it."

"That's good to know." Link said with a smile. "And Malon, thank you for helping Karei."

Malon laughed. "Like I said, it's no problem!"

Link smiled again and asked, "Okay. And Malon, I hate to ask this of you, but could we stay here for the night? I know we just met, but-"

Link was cut off when Malon said loudly, "Of course y'all can stay here! You guys seem harmless enough, and what's five more people?" She grinned and said, "Let me show you where you'll be staying."

I smiled. "Thanks, Malon."

"You're welcome!"

* * *

**THAT WAS SO SHORT! NE! But um, I hope you enjoyed it anyway. And Malon is probably WAAAY OOC. But whatever... I don't feel like changing it... And now that I've updated, I don't feel that bad about running off to read manga. I'm reading Fullmetal Alchemist, for those of you who want to know. I just finished InuYasha. I love Miroku! :DD He's hilarious. And my favorite chapter is chapter 520. Love that chapter. :D**

**Review!**

**Until next time,**

**Electro**


	4. Equip Yourselves

**Yo! Finally, here's a chapter! I haven't updated in forever, I know, and I apologize. I've been ultra busy with school and things, and today, I actually decided to do my homework, so I had some free time on my hands... This chapter got finished. Also, I was looking at the page count- this chapter is 15 pages long! That's amazing to me; I've never written a 15 page chapter before. :D So... a longer chapter for a longer wait, I guess.**

**This chapter does include some Zelda bashing, so if you're a huge fan of her, don't get too mad... I warned you in advance. I'm just not a fan of OoT Zelda; I like SS Zelda more. :D **

**Disclaimer:**  
**I don't own Legend of Zelda in any way, shape, or form.**

* * *

Chapter 4: Equip Yourselves

Malon walked back into the house and up a set of stairs. She opened a door at the top, which led to a long hallway. She turned to us and smiled. "Well, the first door on the left is the bathroom. We only have two guest rooms, so y'all will have to share. That's okay, right?" She asked.

Link immediately replied, "It's good enough that you're letting us stay here at all. I wouldn't mind sharing a room."

"Neither would I." I said, agreeing with Link.

Just as Shane nodded, Malon grinned. "Well, since you all don't seem to mind, we have a room with three beds, you can use that one."

My eyes widened. "Three beds? How big is this room?!"

Malon tilted her head to the side. "Not that big, why?"

I furrowed my eyebrows and said, "Nevermind..."

Malon didn't say anything, and instead showed us our room. "Well, here you guys go! I'm a bit tired, and it's rather late, so I suggest getting in some sleep. Well... goodnight!" Malon waved and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

I was awe-struck as I looked at the room. It was HUGE. Three beds were lined up neatly against the wall, all about a yard and a half away from each other. In between each bed, there was a small ebony table. On the tables, there was either a picture of Malon and the horses or a small flower pot. The flowers were a vibrant purple in one pot and a soft pink in a different pot. To the far left of the room, there was a small door, probably a closet. The walls were painted a light yellow and there were light brown wood floors. I grinned. "I'm loving this room already."

Shane nodded in agreement. "Yeah... it's too bad we'll only be staying here for tonight."

Just then, Link's hat went flying off his head as Navi flitted around crazily. "You... you picking a fight? ...Dylan... I'll... fight you..."

Link stared at his forest green hat that was currently floating in the air. "Navi?" He asked.

"I'll... fight you..." Navi muttered.

I giggled. "Navi's a sleep-flier!"

Shane sighed and walked up to the hat, grabbing it out of the air and shaking it. There was a sort of jingling noise before a small blue light emerged from Link's hat.

"Ngggh... Whazgoinon?" Navi asked sleepily.

I giggled and walked over to Shane. I tapped Navi's head with the tip of my finger and cooed, "Go back to sleep, little fairy."

Navi gave me a weird look and mumbled something that sounded a lot like "Creepy" before crawling back into Link's hat.

I giggled again and flopped onto the bed in the middle. I curled up into a ball and said, "Goodnight, guys. I just realized how tired I was."

Link laughed. "Karei, you've got to get under the covers."

I scoffed. "Pssh, who needs covers?"

"If you say so." Link said, sitting on the bed to the left of me.

Shane sighed again, taking the last empty bed. "Ugh... Karei, I see where you're coming from. I feel like... like a lot of pressure I didn't even know was there just got lifted off of me."

I nodded. "Yeah, today's been a pretty crazy day, hasn't it?"

"Yeah." Shane said, yawning.

"Well," Link said, "You guys look very tired. We should probably go to sleep now."

I nodded lazily. "Yep. Night."

"Night." Shane and Link said at the same time.

~OoT: AFW~

"Karei..." I heard someone calling out my name. I opened my eyes, and saw Link hovering directly above my face.

I just looked at him for a moment, because on any other occasion I might have screamed. "Morning." I said instead.

"Morning." He moved away from me and I sat up.

I stretched and asked, "How long was I out?"

"Um..." Link glanced at a clock on the wall. "About six or seven hours."

I smiled and hopped out of bed. "Alright! Is everyone else up?"

"Everyone but Dylan." Clarissa said, walking into the room.

Shane followed after her. "Yeah, he's sleeping like a rock. I don't know what it would take to wake him up."

I grinned evilly. "Just leave it to me."

Clarissa took a step back. "I know that look. What are you planning?"

With the grin still on my face, I laughed and said, "Don't tell Dylan I told you this, or else he'll flip out on me. Okay so, one day I walked in on Dylan while he was playing Super Smash Bros Brawl. And he was practicing with Samus in her Zero Suit form... He was literally sitting there, with the zoom on her, staring at her." I laughed. "I took the chance and snuck up on his and he screamed like a little girl. It was hilarious! I asked him, 'What are you doing?' And he said, 'I'm staring at Samus. She is FINE!' I don't think he realized he said that until a few minutes later, because he flipped out on me and made me promise not to tell anyone."

"..." Shane was silent for a moment before he said, "So... blackmail?"

I nodded and laughed evilly. "Precisely!" I then ran off and into Dylan's room. I had to suppress another fit of laughter and I walked up to Dylan's bed.

"Samus..." He muttered in his sleep. "Your hair... is so pretty... it's gold... like the sun..." He smiled and rolled over.

I suppressed yet another fit of laughter and got in close to whisper in his ear. "Hey Dylan," I said, trying to keep the evil glee out of my voice. "Samus is sitting in the bathroom waiting for you in nothing but a towel."

His eyes instantly snapped open. "Where?!" He asked, looking around. When I burst into laughter, he narrowed his eyes and glared at me. "That was a dirty trick. DIRTY TRICK."

I couldn't help but keep laughing. "And... and what about that dream you were having, eh?"

He blushed and said, "That's none of your business."

"Pssh," I laughed harder. "Alright then, lover boy!"

He blushed deeper and threw a pillow at me. "Get out, Karei!"

I caught the pillow and threw it back at him before running out of the room in a giggling fit. I ran back into my room and collapsed on the bed, laughing evilly. Shane, Clarissa, and Link, who were still in the room, all took a few steps away from the bed. When I was finally able to stop laughing, I looked up at them and smiled. "So, Dylan is awake now."

Just as I said this, a still sleepy Dylan walked by the doorway, grumbling something about 'being woken up from an awesome dream'. I laughed a little again, before turning to Link and asking, "So Link, are we gonna head to the castle or what?"

Link was silent for a moment before he smiled and said, "Yep."

There was a squealing noise before Navi flew out of Link's hat in a frenzy. "Finally, we're leaving! And Link, lookit!" She held out a magazine for him to see.

"Navi, that's too small, I can't read it." Link replied, amused.

"Darn it!" Navi stomped her foot in the air then said, "Well, since you can't read it, I'll tell you what happened." She pointed dramatically at the front cover of the magazine, even though she knew Link still couldn't see it. "My ex-boyfriend is on the _FRONT COVER_ of Triforce Weekly! He was a lazy bum when we were dating! How did this happen?!" She flitted around his head in a frenzy.

"Um," Link said slowly, "Maybe he tried to change his ways to get you back...?"

Navi huffed. "Well, it didn't work. He's still a LAZY BUM!" With that, she flew back into Link's hat.

"Okaaaaay..." Shane said. "That was... strange."

"Don't call me strange!" Navi yelled from Link's hat.

"Don't yell in my ear." Link said flatly.

"ANYWAYS." Clarissa said loudly. "Let's hurry up and go to the castle before it gets too late."

I nodded. "Yes, let's." I stood and walked out of the room, down the hallway, down the stairs, and through the front door. I walked out into the corral to see Dylan and Malon already standing there, talking. I giggled to myself, then silently snuck up behind Dylan. I poked his shoulder and he jumped.

He turned and frowned at me. "Hey, Karei."

I smiled. "Hey nii-san!"

Malon laughed. "You guys must be related! You look alike!"

I looked at Dylan, and he looked back at me. We both turned to Malon and asked together, "How?"

Malon laughed again just as Link, Shane, and Clarissa walked up to us.

"Malon," Link started, "Thank you for letting us stay here, but we have to leave. We're going to the castle."

Malon grinned. "You're going to see the princess? Cool! And since you're going to the castle anyways, fairy boy, would you mind finding my dad? He must have fallen asleep somewhere around the castle. What a thing for an adult to do! Tee hee! Oh, yeah-if you look for him, I'll give this to you. I've been incubating this egg very carefully... Tee hee!" Malon handed Link a small, white egg sitting in a sort of nest. When she pulled it out, or where she pulled it out _from_, I don't know. "My dad is really troublesome, for an adult, isn't he?! Hee hee!" Malon giggled and grinned.

Link, holding the egg very carefully, said, "Thanks, Malon. We'll find your dad for you."

"Thanks!" Malon said, then gave each of us a hug. "Since you guys are leaving, I don't know when I'll see you again, so I'm saying now, stay safe, and good luck getting to the castle!"

"Thanks Malon! Bye!" We all called as we left the ranch.

When we got out into the field, another Stalchild rose up from the ground. Link instantly pulled out his sword as it started towards us, claws raised, but Navi flew out of his hat and said, "No, Link, don't waste your time on it."

Link gave her an disbelieving look. "Navi, I don't want Karei to get attacked again."

Navi shook her tiny head and pointed at the sky. "That's not what I meant. It's sunrise."

We all looked up at the sky to find that it was indeed sunrise. The sky was painted with orange, yellow, purple and pink as the sun rose from the hilly field. We looked back to the stalchild to see it paused in its assault and sank back into the ground.

"...Cool!" Clarissa cheered. "Now, let's get to the castle!"

"Right." Shane replied, and we started towards the castle again.

~OoT: AFW~

A few hours later, we finally reached the drawbridge that led to the castle. We had managed to walk the distance without incident, unless someone would call Dylan tripping over his feet (or "the rocks in the grass" as Dylan had said) and falling every few minutes eventful.

The sun was beating down on us the whole time, which left us hot, sweaty, and a little more than irritable. I sighed. "Ugh." I groaned, walking over the drawbridge and onto the cobblestones it connected to. "Thank the goddesses, we're finally here."

We walked past a guard, probably seeing to everyone that comes in and out, and he nodded at us. I waved back. Dylan sighed. "It's still... just as hot."

"You guys are such babies." Navi scolded, flying out of Link's hat. "It's not that hot."

Clarissa glared at her as she wiped some sweat off her head. "Says the fairy who lazed around in Link's hat the whole time."

"Ooh!" Navi fumed, flying into Clarissa's face. "You're just as annoying as Dylan!"

Link sighed. "You guys, we need to get to the castle. Standing around here and fighting won't get us anywhere."

Shane nodded. "Link's right. So let's get going." They started off towards the town again, leaving the rest of us struggling to catch up.

When we finally did, I was shocked by how the town opened up. This must be the town square. I did what I normally did when I was bored, I took in every detail. On either side of the path we had come from, there was a small booth that was crowded with people. Skipping between each booth was a tall, skinny, bald man holding a large red sack. When we walked by, I heard him muttering something about being late. He seemed to go to each booth, then disappear for a few moments before emerging once again and going to the other booth.

Next to the booth on the left, I saw a door with a lantern hanging out front. I wonder what it's for? I wanted to investigate, but then again, I don't want to be left behind either. I shrugged and kept looking. I looked up and saw another tall man, but with red hair this time, standing on top of the booth and looking out into the square. I wondered how he got up there, then noticed the set of stairs off to the side. When I looked back down, I saw two more tall men, both with red hair, laughing for no reason in particular. They were standing under a quite random tree in the square. In the center, probably as some sort of direction point, was a large fountain. The water inside was a sparkling ocean blue.

I sighed. I wish I had a coin, I could make a wish on the fountain. I sighed again and looked at the fountain longingly.

"...rei?" I heard someone say. "Karei? Karei!"

I blinked and looked towards the sound. "Wha?" I asked, confused.

The voice had belonged to Shane. "You had all of sudden stopped walking and you had this distant look on your face."

"Oh yeah. I was taking in the details of the town, but..." I trailed.

"Too many details?" Shane asked with a small smile.

"Way too many." I sighed. I looked to Link, Clarissa, and Dylan, who seemed to be waiting on us. "Well, let's go. The princess won't meet herself." I walked by them, wanting to hurry up and get to the castle. I walked down a long stretch of cobblestones before they suddenly ended and turned into a dirt road.

I kept walking and saw another set of cliff-like walls. I noticed the vines along the side of the wall to my right. They looked dangerous, but climbable. I peeked around a corner and saw a guard standing at a gate. I was about to approach him when a familiar voice stopped me. I froze and looked up at the tree nearby, and saw the same owl from yesterday sitting there.

"Hey Link! This way!" The owl said, and I correctly assumed that Link was standing behind me, along with everyone else. "The princess is inside the castle just ahead. Be careful not to get caught by the guards! Ho ho ho hoot! On this ground, time flows normally. But time stands still when you are in Lon Lon Ranch or in a town. If you want time to pass normally, you'll need to leave town. Well, well-which way are you going to go now? Hoo hoo hoot! Do you want to hear what I said again?" The owl asked. But I had zoned out at "Be careful".

I heard Dylan say up to the large bird, "No, man! You talk too much!"

The owl seemed unfazed by Dylan. "Hoooo. You're some smart kids. Good luck, then. Hoo hoo." The owl then spread his great wings and flew away to only-Din-knows-where.

I sighed as everyone caught up to me. I was about to start walking towards the guard when I felt someone grab my shoulder and spin me around.

"Karei." It was Dylan. "You can't just run off like that!"

I sighed. "Nothing happened."

"_Nothing happened_?" Dylan repeated incredulously. "Something horrible could have happened! You... you could have gotten attacked!"

I rolled my eyes. "By what? A three-headed mutant dog with fangs?"

"Maybe!" Dylan yelled. "Or... we passed a lot of alleyways on the way here, some creeper could have taken you!" He motioned to the guard. "Or that guard could be a rapist!" He said a little too loudly.

The guard, who had overheard, yelled, "I'm not a rapist, man!"

The very next moment, there was a spear embedded in the ground next to us. Dylan, eyeing the spear, pointed to it and said, "See?! He could have stabbed you with that and killed you after he was finished!"

I sighed. "Dylan please, stop. That guard is doing nothing wrong... Plus, he threw the spear at you because you called him a rapist." I pointed out.

Dylan still wasn't convinced. "Karei, you just don't understand... How'm I supposed to protect you when you run off like that?" He asked softly.

My gaze softened. "Dylan..." I pulled him into a hug. "Dylan, I know you'll always be there... I'm sorry for worrying you like that." I let go and smiled at him. "Now... can we _please_ go meet the princess?"

Dylan nodded. "Yeah. You guys all ready?"

Clarissa nodded overdramatically. "Yeah, we've been ready for a while now!"

Dylan huffed as Link said slowly, "Well, it seems like that guard won't let us by after... that..." He turned to look at Dylan pointedly. "So I guess we'll have to find another way in."

"I saw some vines on the way here. We could climb those and get over the gates." I volunteered.

"Alright." Shane said, "Let's go."

We walked back the way we came until we came across the vines. I took a deep breath and asked, "So... who's going first?" When no one responded, I sighed. "I guess I will."

I took a deep breath, then grabbed the vines and started to pull myself up. I hooked a foot into one of the lower vines, and continued climbing up. I was about halfway up when I heard Link yell to me, "How's it going so far?"

I grunted. "Semi-good." I looked up to see how much farther I had to go, and I paused. It just so happened that, right there, a spider decided to lay her eggs... and they were starting to hatch. I frantically yelled down, "Correction, not good, not good!"

I tried to quickly climb past the spiders, but my strength decided that it was okay to fail right now. I tightened my grip on the vines, frozen. I saw a baby spider crawl out of its egg and blindly crawl onto my arm. I gasped, and suddenly my body went into overdrive. The next thing I knew, I was at the top of the wall, slowly backing away from the vines.

"What happened?" Shane called up.

I looked over the edge, shaking slightly. "Sp-spider babies... halfway up..." I shuddered.

"Oh," Clarissa muttered. "That must have been terrible."

I nodded slowly. "Yep." I then laid back on the ground, the blades of grass tickling my ears as I sighed. "Well, come on up, guys." I said loud enough for them to hear.

It only took a few minutes before everyone was up. When the last person, Link, climbed up, I jumped up from my place sprawled out on the grass and exclaimed, "Ah, you guys took forever!"

My comment went ignored as everyone headed off towards the top of the gate. I sighed and followed them.

We had no trouble sneaking past the guards. I sighed internally. One would think that it would be harder to sneak into a castle, but it was all too easy. We were on a great roll until we hopped out of the moat and found the only way of getting into the castle blocked by a portly sleeping man.

"What about the door over there?" Dylan asked, motioning to said door to the right of us, sitting to the side of two large crates of milk.

"It probably locked." I told him, sighing. I turned toward the sleeping man. "We'll have to wake this guy up."

Clarissa groaned. "Well... how should we go about doing this?"

"I don't know." Link said.

Just then, there was a loud clucking noise coming from Link's pouch. He opened the pouch, alebeit hesitantly, and his eyes widened. He reached inside, and when his hand surfaced again, in it was sitting a small, fluffy white chicken. It shifted around in Link's hand and started to gently peck at his fingers.

He quickly put the bird down, and it spread its wings in slight alarm, but settling moments afterwards. We all watched in silence as the small bird plodded over to the sleeping man, settled itself right next to his ear, and went, "CUCKOOOOO!"

The man instantly jumped up, again startling the bird, and looked around, disgruntled. "What in tarnation? Can't a person get a little shut-eye around here?" The man rubbed the back of his head before looking up and seeing us. "Oh, hello, who might you folks be?"

We all just looked at him until Navi flew out of Link's hat. "Well," She explained, turning and pointing to each of us. "That's Dylan, Shane, Karei, Clarissa, Link, and I'm Navi." She turned back to the man and asked, "Do you know why these crates are here?"

The man nodded and smiled. "Yep. I'm Talon, the owner of Lon Lon Ranch. I went to the castle to deliver some milk, but I sat down here to rest, and I guess I fell asleep..."

"Oh," Clarissa said, snapping her fingers. "Malon was looking for you!"

Talon's eyes widened. "What?! Malon was looking for me? I'm gonna catch it from her now! I messed up bad, leaving Malon behind to wait for me! She's really gonna let me have it!" And with that, he ran off, his arms flailing around.

"How come he gets Pegasus boots?" Dylan muttered, crossing his arms.

"Pegasus boots?" Link asked, confused.

Dylan shook his head, holding a hand up. "Ha, nope. Ignore what I just said."

Before Link could reply, Shane walked over to a crate and got into a position to move it, saying, "We have to push these crates somewhere."

"How do you know?" Link asked, still a little confused.

"I'm just smart like that." Shane replied, grinning. He then planted his feet and pushed on the crate, grunting. When it didn't budge, he pushed again, and again, and again... The crate still didn't move. "Ugh... This thing is heavier than it looks!"

Link walked over to the crate and stood beside Shane, putting his hands on the large wooden side. "Here, let me help you out."

When they both pushed, and the crate still didn't move, Dylan walked over and put his hands against the side, leaving Clarissa and I standing there to cheerlead on the sidelines.

When all three of them pushed on the crate, it shifted, and then slid easily the rest of the way.

"Alright," Clarissa said, "Now that we know you guys can push the crate, where do we push it?"

I looked around, and then noticed a hole in the side of the castle. Water was flowing through it. "Hey, how about that hole right there?" I pointed to the hole. "Maybe, if we put the crates on top of each other, we can reach that and get inside."

"Alright." Shane, Dylan, and Link all said in unison, then pushed the crates around until they were stacked neatly in front of the hole.

Shane, taking a deep breath, pulled himself up onto the top crate, and when he was up there, he jumped to where the hole was, then crawled through it. The rest of us followed him, and after some sneaking around guards, we were standing in a sort of clearing.

The walls around us made the area circular, some windows here and there. There were two flowerbeds on either side of the archway we had come in through. In front of one lower and ornate window, stood a young girl in a white and purple dress. When she heard our footsteps crunching on the grass, she turned around, her blue eyes wide with shock. "What?! Who?! Who are you people? How did you get past the guards?" It was then that Navi had flown out of Link's hat to see what the commotion was. The girl's blue eyes widened even more, if possible. "Oh, what's that? Is that... a fairy?! Then are you... Are you from the forest? Then... then... you wouldn't happen to have... the Spiritual Stone of the Forest, would you?! That green and shining stone... Do you have it?"

Link raised an eyebrow, but nodded and pulled the stone out.

The girl smiled and clapped her delicate hands together. "Just as I thought! I had a dream... In the dream, dark storm clouds were billowing over the land of Hyrule... But suddenly, a ray of light shot out of the forest, parted the clouds, and lit up the ground... The light turned into a figure holding a green and shining stone, followed by a fairy... I knew this was a prophecy that someone would come from the forest... Yes, I thought you might be the one..." A look of realization dawned on the girl's face. "Oh, I'm sorry! I got carried away with my story and didn't even properly introduce myself! I am Zelda, Princess of Hyrule. What is your name?"

Link turned around and looked at us. I shrugged and said, "I'm Karei."

"I'm Clarissa." Said person added.

"My name is Shane." He said.

"The name's Dylan." My older brother responded.

"I'm Navi!" The blue fairy chimed.

"And I'm Link." Link finished, looking back at the princess.

She acted like the rest of us hadn't spoken, her attention focused solely on Link. "Link... Strange... It sounds somehow... familiar. Okay then, Link... I'm going to tell you the secret of the Sacred Realm that has been passed down by the Royal Family of Hyrule. Please keep this a secret from everyone..." She looked up at us, and her smile faded... "Alone."

I raised an irritated eyebrow. I was about to say something when Shane put a hand on my shoulder and shook his head. I frowned and crossed my arms, but stepped out of hearing range of Zelda and Link. Dylan, Clarissa and Shane followed me, and I noticed there was a sort of moat right around the platform we were standing on. I looked back to the entrance and noticed a bridge. I sighed.

"The legend goes like this..." And that was the last thing I heard - even though we were standing pretty far away - before I zoned out. It's decided, I don't like this 'Zelda'.

After a few minutes, I turned my head to look over my shoulder, and saw Link waving us back over. I, along with everyone else, walked back over to him.

"That's right..." Zelda continued, "The Temple of Time is the entrance through which you can enter the Sacred Realm from our world. But the entrance is sealed with a stone wall called the Door of Time. And in order to open the door, it is said that you need to collect three Spiritual Stones. Another thing you need... is the treasure that the Royal Family keeps along with this legend... The Ocarina of Time! Did you understand the story I just told you?" She asked Link.

He nodded, sighing.

So Zelda kept blabbing on. "That's great! I forgot to tell you... I was spying through this window just now... The other element from my dream... the dark clouds... I believe they symbolize... that man in there! Will you look through the window at him?"

Link nodded tiredly and walked up to the window, putting his hands on the windowsill and leaning in to peer inside.

"Can you see the man with the evil eyes?" Zelda asked, looking over his shoulder. "That is Ganondorf, the leader of the Gerudo. They hail from the desert far to the west. Though he swears allegiance to my father, I am sure he is not sincere. The dark clouds that covered Hyrule in my dream... They must symbolize that man!"

Suddenly, Link jumped back from the window, a startled expression on his face.

Zelda adopted a concerned look on her face. "What happened? Did he see you? Don't worry. He doesn't have any idea what we're planning... yet! ...Yes. I told my father about my dream... However, he didn't believe it was a prophecy... But... I can sense that man's evil intentions! What Ganondorf is after must be nothing less than the Triforce of the Sacred Realm. He must have come to Hyrule to obtain it! And he wants to conquer Hyrule... No, the entire world! Link... Now we are the only ones who can protect Hyrule! Please!"

Again, Link nodded.

"Thank you! I... I am afraid... I have a feeling that man is going to destroy Hyrule. He has such terrifying power! But it's fortunate that you have come... We must not let Ganondorf get the Triforce! I will protect the Ocarina of Time with all my power! He shall not have it! You go find the other two Spiritual Stones! Let's get the Triforce before Ganondorf does... and then defeat him!" Zelda looked to us again, and her eyes narrowed.

"As for you guys, you should go home. Link does not need any distractions on his adventure." She said, bite in her tone.

And that was the last straw for me. Before common sense could talk me out of it, I rolled my eyes, crossed my arms, and set the princess with a glare. "Look, _princess,_" I said, acid seeping through my tone. "I may have only known Link for a day, but he's my friend now. I stick with my friends unless _they_ send me away. I've known you for, let's see, ten minutes. Ten unfriendly minutes. You're way too early to be giving me suggestions."

Her eyes narrowed to tiny slits. "Then, I demand you go home."

I simply smirked. "You may be the princess of Hyrule, but you don't write the rules. You don't write _my_ rules. And my number one rules states:" I held up one finger. "Don't abandon your friends."

Zelda's face got red as she stormed over to me. She glared at me with those bright blue eyes, but the look had no effect from below. She only went to about my nose, even in the heels I saw when she walked up to me. "As the princess of Hyrule," She said lowly, "With the power vested in me, I demand you go home."

And the smirk still stayed on my face. "And, with the power vested in me, I disobey you, and stay with Link. No matter what you do, you won't change my mind."

Zelda huffed. "Why you..."

I sighed and shook my head, taking a step back. "Oh, is the princess losing her cool?" I shook a finger at her. "No no, princess, you're supposed to remain elegant at all times."

The corner of Zelda's lips tilted up a little. "Don't try to act to high and mighty. You just stepped back, therefore you surrender."

I shook my head and gagged. "No, I took a step back because your perfume is suffocating me. How much do you use, a bottle a day? Geez."

Zelda looked like she was about to say something, but then she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "Very well. You all may stay with Link, but I advise you obtain weapons and learn how to use them." She turned to Link, pulling a card and a pen out of nowhere. "One more thing... Take this letter... I'm sure it will be helpful to you." When Zelda was finished, she handed the letter to Link and said, motioning to the archway we entered through. "My attendant will guide you out of the castle. Do not be afraid to talk to her." She then folded her hands in front of her and stared at us, simply waiting for us to leave.

And, since we were no longer needed, we _did_ leave. We walked over to the woman near the entrance of the circular area. Her silvery-gray hair was pinned up in a tight bun, although some shorter strands of hair stuck out in the front. Her arms were crossed, blocking much of her outfit from view. From what I could see, the woman had on armor- black gauntlets, purple tight-fitting shorts, black and purple boots that came just below her knees. On her front, I could tell she wore a large silver chest plate. I looked to her face. She had on bright red lipstick that contrasted somewhat with her tanned skin. She had tattoos the same color as her hair under her eyes, which were also a blazing red, nearly the same color as her lipstick. She had an overall intimidating presence... Even though everyone else approached her calmly, I walked over slowly, reluctant.

Her inquiring gaze crossed us all as she said, "I am Impa of the Sheikah. I am responsible for protecting Princess Zelda. Everything is exactly as the princess foretold. You are a courageous group... You are heading out on a big, new adventure, aren't you? My role in the princess' dream was to teach a melody to the one from the forest. This is an ancient melody passed down by the Royal Family. I have played this song for Princess Zelda as a lullaby ever since she was a baby... There is mysterious power in these notes. Now listen carefully..." At that, she uncrossed her arms. Link pulled out his ocarina just as Impa held up a hand to her mouth. She began to whistle the soft notes of Zelda's lullaby. After she whistled the tune twice, Link copied the notes on his ocarina perfectly.

The ocarina began to glow, the song Link had just learned having some sort of magical effect on it. Link held it out and stared at it for a moment before putting it away.

"If the castle soldiers find you," Impa continued, putting a hand on her hip. "there will be trouble. Let me lead you out of the castle." With that, she started to walk out of the circular area, with us following closely behind.

After a few minutes, we were off the castle grounds and in castle town, watching everyone bustle around, minding their own business.

"You brave kids..." Impa said, looking at us. "We must protect this beautiful land of Hyrule! Take a good look at that mountain." She pointed up, above the roof of a weapon shop. I followed her finger and saw a giant mountain. There was a white ring of clouds that hovered just below the top of the mountain. "That is Death Mountain, home of the Gorons. They hold the Spiritual Stone of Fire. At the foot of Death Mountain, you will find my village, Kakariko. That is where I was born and raised. You should talk to some of the villagers there before you go up Death Mountain." She lowered her hand and continued. "The song I just taught you has some mysterious power. Only Royal Family members are allowed to learn this song. Remember, it will help to prove your connection with the Royal Family. The princess is waiting for you to return to the castle with the stones. All right. We're counting on you!" Impa then paused. She pulled out a small sack and handed it to Link. "This is a sack full of rupees. Use the money in there to better equip yourselves for the journey ahead of you. Good luck." Link took the sack, then got a surprised look on his face. He held the sack in both hands as Impa took a step back, then suddenly threw something at the ground.

There was bright flash of light, forcing us to cover our eyes. When the light faded, Impa was gone. "How...?" I heard Clarissa mutter.

"Well, Link," Navi said, flying out of his hat. "What now?"

Link held up the bag of rupees and said, "Impa said to go equip ourselves with the money in this... I wonder how much it is. It's really heavy..."

"Well, let's open it!" Shane said.

Link shrugged and opened the bag. He reached in, still looking in it. "Oh! There's a bunch of purple rupees in here! Let's see... five, six, seven..." Link continued counting. "For Din's sake, how did they get this much money?! There's twenty-five purple rupees in this thing!"

"But... how much money is a purple rupee worth?" Asked Dylan, who was probably more than slightly confused.

"A purple rupee is worth fifty rupees..." I answered, feeling professional as I did the math in my head. "Which means we have 1250 rupees-worth of spending money... That _is_ a lot."

"Well... Let's get spending. We don't have a lot of time before nightfall." Clarissa said, walking off towards the weapon shop. We all followed her, and in a matter of seconds, we stood in the large shop.

We looked around, but Link simply stood to the side, having already been armed with a sword.

I lost track of everyone else as I wandered into the whip section, wondering what I would find here. Since none of them really caught my eye, I was about to leave the section and look somewhere else when I saw it.

Sitting there, on the shelf, was a single whip. It had a handle that was colored a dark navy blue. The length of the whip was a bright sky blue with silver streaks here and there. The bottom of the handle was like that of a sword, a sparkling blue sapphire gem embedded into it. There was another similar gem at the very tip of the whip. The light hit it perfectly from where I was standing. As if it were a magnet, I was drawn to it instantly.

As soon as I was in range, my hand wrapped itself around the handle, and it felt so... _right._ I carefully picked it up, searching for the price tag. I found it, but was disappointed to find that it was written in Hylian.

I returned to Link just as everyone else was. We were all holding a variety of weapons and Link looked at each in surprise. "So, I'm presuming you've all found your weapons?" He said, gripping the rupee sack tightly in his hands.

Clarissa nodded at the same time I did. "Yep," She said.

I took the time to examine everyone's chosen weapons more closely, and slowly figured out why Link looked surprised. We each had very different weapons in our hands - Shane had a katana, Clarissa held a bow and a quiver of arrows, and Dylan... I didn't know what Dylan had.

His weapon came in a pair. It looked like a deadly wheel. There were three places to grip the weapon, the sections covered in what looked like black rubber, which is a pretty good gripping material. The rest of the wheel was covered in blades, in three sections, like the rubber. In each section, the blades were seemingly arranged by size - the first blade was about four inches long, with a vicious curve near the top. The second blade, very close to that one, was about half the size of the first blade. The third blade was about half the size of the second. If Dylan learned how to use those, he could be a very deadly opponent... wow.

I looked at Clarissa's weapon next. Her bow was made of wood that had been painted white. The tips of the bow had gold engravings. The bow itself was a little less than three feet long, which was just the size for her. I got a peek in her quiver and noticed that the arrows were made of regular wood- except the arrowhead was made with polished, blood-red metal. I shivered internally. She would have picked out the arrows, if anything, with the bow... I guess she likes those.

Finally, I looked at Shane's weapon, and was awestruck. He held a long katana in his hands. The hilt was a sparkling gold, yet the blade was a deep black. There were rubies along the rain guard above the hilt, and a deadly curve to the top of the blade.

I sighed and looked back at my weapon just as Link said, "Well, let's get all of this paid for."

And so, we went to the register. The man standing there gave us strange looks and said, "Aren't you kids a little young to be buying weapons?"

"So what if we are? We're still customers." Dylan grumbled, putting his "deadly wheels" on the counter.

The cashier laughed. "You want to buy the chakrams, kid? Those are had to master, you know."

Dylan's expression hardened as we all put our weapons on the counter. "I can do it. Anyways," He said, turning away, "How much will this cost?"

The cashier laughed again and looked at the price tags of all our items, adding up the totals in his head. "Let's see... 935 rupees. You guys have expensive taste - can you afford all that?"

This time Link stepped forward, smiling and putting 19 purple rupees on the counter. "Yes, sir. You can keep the change."

The cashier looked surprised before he grabbed the rupees and put them in a register on the far side of the counter. "Have a nice day, kids." He said slowly, unsure of how to react to us.

"You too!" I said, grabbing my new whip off the counter.

We then exited the weapon shop, weapons in hand. We slowly walked out of castle town. When we got out and stepped on the grass of Hyrule Field, Clarissa grinned. "Wow... It's still around noon. I guess we weren't at the castle for as long as I thought we were." She said cheerfully, looking up at the sky.

Link smiled. "Well," He said, looking to his left and up at Death Mountain. "Kakariko should be right over there, and it shouldn't take long to get there."

"Alright, then," I said, coiling my whip and holding it in one hand. "Let's go!"

* * *

**Sooorry about the cliffhanger- I just really wanted to update and didn't want to make this chapter any longer... *sighs* Gomenasai.**

**Well, review! :D**


End file.
